Raptors Ready For Return To Playoff Pressure

Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com

Two days in advance of Game 1 against the Washington Wizards, the Toronto Raptors are a calm bunch. Whether it’s the experience of last year’s seven-game series against the Brooklyn Nets or the result of finishing an 82-game season filled with first-time expectations, the Raptors are ready to get things going. 
 “[We’re] a year older,” Kyle Lowry said. “Pretty much, as you get older you get more mature. I think we understand what to expect, how to come in with the mindset of the difference of the playoffs.” 
 Part of that playoff mindset involves recognizing how important each possession is. Losing Game 7 against the Nets by a single point was probably the most painful way to learn that lesson. 
 “Every single step on the court means something,” DeMar DeRozan said. “You can’t leave a step out there. You’ve got to go out there and leave everything you’ve got on that court. Especially if you want to win.” 
 While Lowry and DeRozan have led Toronto this season, they face a Wizards team with its own challenging backcourt. John Wall joined Lowry in New York on the Eastern Conference All-Star team this past February and Bradley Beal is one of the best young players in the league. 
 DeRozan enters the playoffs coming off the best six-week stretch of his five-year career. Lowry closed out the season against the Charlotte Hornets by making six of his nine three-point attempts and looks as though he is back to form after a seven-game absence with back spasms. 
 Both Lowry and DeRozan know Wall well, but it is Lowry who will be matching up with him rather than playing alongside him as he did during All-Star weekend. 
 “I can’t wait,” Lowry said. “It’s my All-Star backcourt mate. We’re both starting All-Stars. I think his talent is unbelievable. He’s one of the fastest guys in the league, most athletic point guards and he’s only getting better. But, it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to and I’m sure he’s looking forward to it.”

Wall’s speed isn’t a secret, but it’s just one of the ways the Wizards will test the Raptors. 
 “They present a lot of different challenges for us,” Dwane Casey said. “Their speed and athleticism, the way they run the floor is huge. Rebounding is another area which the team should really be focused in. That’s a challenge. In transition with Wall pushing the ball at you 100 miles an hour is another challenge. Getting back with Nene’s post-ups is another. 
 “We, on the other hand, offer a lot of different challenges to them the way we want to play,” Casey continued. “It’s a good matchup and a very good team and a playoff ready, playoff-made team. They have physicality, size, speed, a lot of the things you need in the playoffs.”

It’s a matchup that is especially interesting given the seasons each of these teams have had. As Wall and Lowry played their way into the East’s starting lineup in the All-Star Game, their stellar play led the way for each organization to get off to a strong start. After the break, both teams have faced adversity. For the Raptors, much of the second half of the season has been about trying to figure things out on the defensive end of the floor. 
 “I feel a lot better about our defence than I did two weeks ago,” Casey said. “I think our defence has taken a huge step. There are still areas we have to clean up but we’ve taken steps in the last two-and-a-half weeks defensively of tightening things up and doing a little better than we were. For a while it was like a layup drill with no one in the gym but the other team, but now it’s much different.” 
 Casey’s defence first message has been heard by Lowry and DeRozan. Coupled with last year’s experiences and an understanding that the game gets more physical in the postseason, Toronto’s two best players are prepared for playoff pressures. 
 “We know everything is going to go through us,” Lowry said. “We’re going to [be] the focal point in every single game, every single minute of play is going to go through us. We put the pressure on ourselves. We’ve got great teammates, they’re going to do their job, do what they have to do, but at the end of the day things are going to go through me and DeMar, through our leadership, starting defensively and continuing onto the offensive side of the ball.” 
 With last season serving as an introduction, the hope is that this year’s team will be ready to play its best basketball under the brightest lights. 
 “It’s a big stage and I think these guys are fearless and now they kind of know a little bit of what to expect,” Masai Ujiri said.


When the ball goes up on Saturday afternoon, the Raptors expect to be ready.

*if necessary